


Bittersweet Warmth

by obliviousIntelligence



Series: danganronpa !! [2]
Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enjoy reading, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, John Egbert is Not a Homosexual, Multi, Mutual Pining, My First Work in This Fandom, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Saimami, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, Trans Saihara Shuichi, ding dang it grandpa, homosexuals <3, i deserve both of those, i have a large headache, its not a homestuck fic but thtas funny, junko enoshima is a bitch, nonbinary kirumi tojo, remembering that my brother said dogandramp, this took me two days
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-01-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:01:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obliviousIntelligence/pseuds/obliviousIntelligence
Summary: ★ ¡¡ ON HIATUS !! ★—Shuichi Saihara despised parties, he thought of them as awkward, obnoxious, and gross. Nevertheless, Saihara found himself agreeing to attend one. Being stuck with some insufferable juveniles, beyond amazing. Though, he stumbled across Rantaro Amami, a charismatic boy who helped him.With Saihara's jaded view, all of this seemed too good to be true.
Relationships: Akamatsu Kaede & Saihara Shuichi, Akamatsu Kaede/Iruma Miu, Amami Rantaro & Iruma Miu, Amami Rantaro & Mioda Ibuki, Amami Rantaro & Oma Kokichi, Amami Rantaro & Tojo Kirumi, Amami Rantaro/Saihara Shuichi, Harukawa Maki/Tojo Kirumi, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Ishimaru Kiyotaka/Oowada Mondo (mentioned), Kirigiri Kyoko & Saihara Shuichi, Kirigiri Kyoko/Celestia Ludenberg (mentioned), Momota Kaito & Saihara Shuichi, Momota Kaito/Shinguji Korekiyo, Naegi Makoto/Togami Byakuya
Series: danganronpa !! [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2126832
Comments: 11
Kudos: 54





	1. guys that can’t exist don’t exist

**Author's Note:**

> ahhh,,,, saimami  
> this is my first fic so dont murder me  
> slight warning, there is a panic attack scene D:  
> i put a warning when that happens, if thats triggering

Shuichi Saihara was never fond of parties. 

But, he found himself standing around getting squished in between classmates; music blaring. Drinks sloshed around, spilling on the extravagant tile floor. What a pity. From what the young detective could recall, the house was extremely large. The entrance was almost castle-like, fit for 13 people, perhaps even more. Thinking about it, he didn’t even know who the owner of this house was.

“Shuichi, are you alright?” The girl next to him questioned. To be frank, Shuichi wasn’t feeling fantastic. He started to become dizzy with all the flashing lights, the yelling from the other teenagers wasn’t great either. 

“Ah, I’m alright-! There’s no need to worry, Kaede,” he fibbed. If Ouma were here, he’d definitely call him out on that. Fortunately, the chaotic gremlin was too preoccupied teasing Iruma. 

“Great! If you’re up for it, come play truth or dare with us!” Akamatsu smiled, her optimistic tone was hard to deny, he reluctantly sat next to Kaede. Most of his classmates sat around in a circle, asking cliche questions and chaotic dares. Saihara’s gaze met the floor, not very interested in this game. Ouma did have several more interesting questions, but nothing to clear his jaded view on parties.

Despite himself, Shuichi continued playing. He kept picking truth, and he could hear Iruma yelling ‘pussy!’ at him from the other side of the (awfully large) room. 

“Hey, you don’t have to play if you don’t want to,” Akamatsu said, noticing Saihara’s mood. “I mean, you’re not missing anything devastatingly important,” she added. “We can leave if you’d like!” Saihara saw her reach for her purse, ready to depart. 

“No!” He yelled, probably way too abruptly. God, too many people are looking at him. “I mean, uhm, it’s alright. I- I’ll be alright. Go have fun.” Saihara stammered. 

Kaede respectfully nodded. “Alright! If you need anything jus-” She had been cut off by Iruma and Ouma’s (arguably louder and more aggressive) banter. (I suppose you could call it pure bickering at this point.) Akamatsu groaned, she got up walking towards the others, hopefully solving their little (probably petty) dispute. “Get me if you need anything!” She yelled, making sure that Saihara could clearly hear her. 

That was quite embarrassing, but Kaede’s comforting smile made it just a bit better. That was her thing, you know? It could ease your nerves. Well, it was usually temporary. Just when Akamatsu left, his anxieties came rushing back. The music was outrageously loud, without the optimistic girl’s voice to distract him. The congested room grew larger and larger, causing Saihara to panic immensely. 

Suddenly, a certain ding came from Shuichi’s phone.    
  


**7/12/20XX**

akamatsu kaede: heyo shuichi!!! how are you holdin up? C:

Ah, Akamatsu, using an excessive amount of examination marks and emoticons.

saihara shuichi: it’s not too bad :) 

saihara shuichi: oh, uhm, how’s it going with ouma and iruma?

akamatsu kaede: so so

akamatsu kaede: oh yikes 

akamatsu kaede: un segundo 

**akamatsu kaede is now offline!**

_ // tw: panic attacks // _

Saihara sighed, shoulders slouching. His raven-black hair gets in his face, per usual. The music was  _ blaring,  _ lights flashing, oddly more horrendous than before. His blinks began to be slower and slower, keeping his eyes shut for longer than usual. There was this.. uncomfortability in the air. It bugged Saihara. Alot. His breath hitched as he frantically got up. Saihara’s vision became blurry. All he knew was that he had to get the fuck out of there.

He put his cap onto his head, he pulled it down as he swiftly got out of the crowded living room. He had struggled passing through the crowd of people, but he made it out nonetheless.

  
_ // tw end // _   
  


He made his way to an empty hallway, six doors on both sides. In a moment of sheer panic, he darted for the one at the end of the hall. In hindsight, it really wasn’t the best idea, but that doesn’t matter. Right now, Saihara just wished no one would find him. He went and hid under a desk, seeing that was the safest spot. The walls were plastered with pictures of different locations and.. twelve girls? Different ones, but they all looked like sisters. They all had the same yellow-greenish hair, which Saihara assumed was natural. 

He stayed under that desk for.. three or four hours..? It was difficult keeping track of time. Saihara could still faintly hear the obnoxious music playing. I suppose it wasn’t as bad as being where the music invaded your ears and tormented your brain. Temporarily residing under this desk wasn’t too bad, though he was worrying Akamatsu.

**7/12/20XX**   
  


akamatsu kaede: hey shuichi!! just checking up on u :D

**7/13/20XX**

akamatsu kaede: heyo saihara C:

you ok??

akamatsu kaede: you haven’t been responding

i’m just a bit worried

akamatsu kaede: no one can find you?? shuichi, what’s up???

_ read — 24:56 _

akamatsu kaede: i’m getting amami to help me look for you, alright?? you’re worrying us 

(He continued to leave Kaede on read.)

Shuichi experienced a sharp pang of guilt reading those messages. (Not to mention the missed calls.) He turned his phone off, setting it next to him. 

He could hear feet shuffling,  _ very near.  _ It was startling, but there wasn’t much he could do now. He’d probably get caught. God, Saihara just wanted to be alone. Just for a bit longer.

“Thanks for helping me, Amami. I really appreciate it!” the familiar voice said. (He could tell that she still kept her warm smile, even after he disappeared.) Kaede’s footsteps eventually grew farther, and Shuichi was slightly disappointed. He assumed that she was checking the other rooms, though. (Saihara would much rather have Kaede be there, instead of this ‘mystery guy.’)

“Mhm. It’s no problem, really,” Amami replied as he hummed. The doorknob jostled and Rantaro entered the bedroom. Everything was left untouched, clean as it could be. Saihara shivered as he raised his voice a bit. Unfortunately, was still slightly raspy from earlier, that’s just a clear clue he wasn’t completely alright, opposing what he had said to Kaede.

“Oh, uh-” Saihara whispered. Rantaro crouched down. He quirked an eyebrow looking at the other boy. Huh. Shuichi’s gaze shifted to the floor again, he sat awkwardly trying to explain why he was there. The man looked about his age, six piercings on one ear, just one on the other. His bangs were unevenly cut, but Saihara wouldn’t mention that. 

This was about the time Saihara would just go nonverbal, (it’d be fine around Kaede, she’s seen him in these odd sleepy trances too many times. With another person? It was just unpleasant.) but he needed to muster up some words to say. The other boy isn’t going to say anything anytime soon. “Er- Sorry, Amami.” Shuichi managed to stammer. He pulled his hat down as much as possible. I suppose Amami took notice of that and flicked the brim of the hat. [took this from my friend doing this to me so many times] 

He took it off of Saihara for a moment. Rantaro pulled his face a bit closer, fixing Saihara’s messy hair. It was a bit comforting, but slightly awkward. (Probably only for Saihara though. Considering how flustered he was getting.)

“Hey, don’t sweat it. It’s okay. You alright?” Amami questioned. Was Saihara really alright? He groaned, trying to come up with a response. He desperately wanted to go home and sleep for  _ weeks.  _ At moments like these, his body was just cumbersome. “Here, c’mon,” the other boy smiled, it was similar to Kaede’s, reassuring and warm. It wasn’t as optimistic, perhaps that made it seem more sincere. Amami held his hand out, Saihara obliged. Rantaro’s rings were cold, but his warm hands made up for it.

“I’mm.. fine.” Shuichi said, his words slurred. The gauche teen stumbled forward, with Amami walking ahead of him. They exited the room, Kaede waiting anxiously outside the room. He let go of Amami’s hand, stumbling over to Kaede. Saihara missed that slight bit of warmth though, he scolded himself for that. 

  
  
“Shuichi! God, there you are. We were really worried and..—” Her voice trailed off in Shuichi’s mind, still being in a hazy trance. As Saihara leaned onto Kaede, Akamatsu and Amami exchanged thankful looks. Kaede smiled, walking away, one arm gently wrapped around the tired boy. 

—————

**7/13/20XX**

akamatsu kaede: goodnight shuichi :D

saihara shuichi: goodnihgtv kaede;; , , 

akamatsu kaede: sleep well!!

—————

Saihara found himself reviewing his papers, even after the breakdown he had. He rested on his bed, trying his best not to wrinkle any of the important documents. 

He got a distinct buzz from his phone, he assumed it was Akamatsu, (or Momota, hearing about his meltdown at the party.) but no, he was incorrect. It was a new number, but Saihara’s drowsiness was far too strong to examine it.

**7/13/20XX**

???: hey 

???: oh wait shit this is amami btw

saihara shuichi: ah;;;; uhm, hello, amami :)

amami rantaro: just wanna see if ur alright 

saihara shuichi: oh, i’m okay

saihara shuichi: uhm, you don’t need to worry about it, , too much

amami rantaro: ok then :) 

amami rantaro: well gn sighara

amami rantaro: get some rest <3  
  
  
**amami rantaro is now offline!**  
  


saihara shuichi: goodnight, amami 

  
Saihara smiled at Amami’s kind words, (ignoring the butchering of his last name.) His face began to warm up, just a bit. (Which was odd in itself, the conversation was quite short.) Of course, Saihara disliked these feelings, especially for someone he had just met. He simply put them off as utter exhaustion from the party. After a few slow blinks, the gauche teen found himself sleeping quite soundly.


	2. restless nights

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER IS S H I T AND RLLY SHORT SORRY ABOUT THAT  
> writers block sucks  
> i also dont have a beta reader so uh * sweats * :C
> 
> ( ALSO OH MY GOD 128 HITS W GH A T )

Rantaro Amami awoke to the sudden beep of his alarm. It was a restless night. It wasn't nearly as fun throwing a party then going to one. He was hit by instant regret looking at the mess that lay in front of him. The older kids had no mercy.  _ Jesus.  _ He messaged a certain “Ultimate Maid,” to help him do the job.

amami rantaro: hey tojo   
  
tojo kirumi: Do correct me if I am wrong, but would you like assistance in cleaning your home?   
  
tojo kirumi: If so, I will be glad to help you. 

  
amami rantaro: god tojo ur a lifesaver    
  
tojo kirumi: There is no need for that kind of flattery, but thank you, Amami.    
  
amami rantaro: yw    
  
Amami let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he won’t be completely doomed here.    
  
In a flash, Kirumi Tojo arrived at his house. They insisted on cleaning the living room, (where most of the mess was left,) and that left Rantaro to clean the bedrooms. Six on each side, one directly across the hall. He was determined to find them all (his sisters, that is), one day. He had already missed too much of highschool traveling around. Weeks would go by, finding absolutely nothing. It was unfortunate, but he wouldn’t give up, not now. He peeked into all his sister’s rooms, thankfully, not seeing much of a mess. When Amami reached his room, he couldn’t help but think about the timorous boy he had met yesterday. He had quite a distinct face, long dark eyelashes that were covered by his raven-black hair. Everything about him was a bit dreary, but Amami thought he was very pretty nonetheless. 

Enough rambling about the young detective, whose first name he barely remembered. If they were closer, he’d say ‘gm saihara’ or something of that sort. It won’t be greatly awkward if he did, right? Amami picked up his phone, going through his messages. First there was Tojo, obviously. Then… well, him. 

—————

7/13/20XX

amami rantaro: gm saihara 

amami rantaro: i hope u slept well 

—————

He hesitated a bit, before sending those two messages to the other boy. It’s not like, somehow, he’s going to ruin their friendship from those two texts. They had just met. Amami was simply overthinking. He groaned, he hated thinking about this boy so much, rambling about him so much, it was just.. mmmmh. He wished he could talk to him again, so he could have a better excuse to gush about him then ‘love at first sight.’ He exited the room, deciding not to think about that boy anymore! Hopefully.

Amami walked into the previously trashed living room, seeing how spotless it was. As much as they deny it, Kirumi Tojo is an absolute lifesaver. Seriously. The house was cleaner than it was originally, just in a few minutes. You can't get that title from nothing, he supposes. “Tojo, this is--”   
  
“--Amami,” they cut in, “is there something on your mind?” Of course there was! The stupid boy he kept thinking about yesterday, his long raven-black hair and his cold, delicate hands that he didn’t want to let go of. Rantaro sighed. “Ah, I did not mean to make you uncomfortable, answer if you would like. No stress,” they added.   


“Nono- It’s fine!” He said, “It’s just-”

“Boy troubles?” Kirumi asked, nonchalantly. They were still sweeping up some of the mess on the ground. God, Tojo can read minds. They were sweet though, they always meant well. Amami smiled, jeez, he was slightly embarrassed. 

“Well, uh- I suppose you could say that,” he mumbled. Tojo shot him a reassuring smile. “I mean, I just met him yesterday. ‘S nothing too big,” Tojo had always been good with helping Amami with his problems, stupid or not. (For example, right now.) “His name is..” Amami was embarrassed, not being able to remember his name, but Rantaro's memory was not the best anyway. “Saihara, Saihara Shuichi, I believe,” he finally added.    
  
“Oh? The young detective, yes?” To be frank, Amami wasn’t sure. He barely knew anything about the other boy. (Though, he’d hope that’d change. He won’t say that aloud, of course.) But, Amami nodded anyway. 

“Uhm- Yes. I think,” he weakly laughed. “What class is he i-” Then, Amami was cut off by the sudden (and loud) buzz of his phone.   


—————

7/13/20XX

saihara shuichi: ah,, i’m sorry, amami,, i just woke up ; 

amami rantaro: dont apologize saihara ur good

saihara shuichi: well, uhmm, i slept well! thank you for asking

amami rantaro: np :)

—————   
  


“Is that him?” Tojo asked, putting away their cleaning supplies. Well, it was him, but would the secretive, oh so mysterious Rantaro Amami tell Kirumi? Tojo was rather trustworthy, so.. perhaps. It was odd how interested Tojo was, but it was likely the most interesting thing to happen to them today. (Seeing how Ouma’s chaotic pranks get mundane after a while.) After a bit of consideration Amami mutters a quiet ‘yes.’ Rantaro was never the best at relationships, he barely had time for them at all. But, with Saihara, it was odd. He was definitely talking about this boy too much, he didn’t know if talking to Kirumi made it better or worse.  
  
  
  
Shuichi Saihara was slouched over on his bed, checking his messages. Some from Kaede, some from Kaito and- Amami? Well, that was a tad unordinary. (seeing how they had only met last night.) He hummed, scrolling through his messages. Shuichi’s room was quite cold that day, probably due to the window being open all night. He couldn’t completely comprehend what was going yesterday, so he was probably too out of it to even realize. Saihara yawned, he was still utterly exhausted from the party. He’d always get tired around others, but that’s just his introversion speaking, he supposes.   
  
After a bit of hesitation, Saihara read through Amami’s messages. He bit his lip, attempting to hide the smile on his face. Though Amami’s words were not extraordinary, he still felt his heart flutter. (Which Saihara hated, may I add.) He assumed (hoped, more like it) that it was simply a minuscule lowly ‘crush.’ He sent a (decent) response back.   
  
Shuichi let out a small sigh and propped himself up as he yawned. It was already quite late in the afternoon; waking up this late was not common for Saihara, but he didn’t care to analyze anything right now. He picked up one of his hoodies (though it was about 80 degrees outside) and slumped down the stairs.   
  
He clumsily made himself a coffee, then received an unexpected call from Kaede. He questioned whether or not to pick it up, but with Saihara’s nervousness, he was too worried about what was going on over there.   
  
“Kaede-- Uh- is there anything wrong? Er- do you need any help with anything?” Saihara awkwardly asked. He heard laughing at the other end and raised an eyebrow. “Kaede..?” Okay, to be clear, that was definitely _not_ Akamatsu, her laugh was sweet and a bit more on the energetic side. But, this one was a bit different, it was energetic but less on the peppy side, more abrasive? Wait, wait- “Iruma?”  
  
“Took ya awhile, ey?” She laughed, Saihara desperately hoped that she wouldn’t yell some sex joke or something of that sort. But, to his surprise, Kaede had gotten her phone back.   
  
“Oops, sorry about that, Shuichi! Now what was I going to say..?” Akamatsu hummed, attempting to remember. “Right! I’m a bit busy today, and I promised Amami I’d help him with something. Will you do it? I know, this is such a late notice! But… please?”

_ “Oh. Uh- Sure.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THAAMLK YIU SO MUCH FOR REAADING


	3. rantaro amami is not an asshole (right?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay okay!! here’s a longer chapter for you all!!  
> i do not have a beta reader again, sorry if there are more misspellings/grammatical errors. i’m also mildly dyslexic, so that may just be a part of it. nevertheless, i really hope you enjoy! C:
> 
> warnings for this chapter:  
> panic attacks (it’s mild and short though.)  
> sorry for the overuse of writing panic attacks;; heheh  
> it can get the plot movin’ though.  
> anyway, excuse my ramble,, enjoy!! :)

Oh heavens no. Nononononono. Saihara didn’t even know why he agreed, he was having a fine day anyway, he had the day vaguely planned out. But noooooo. Saihara didn’t have the heart to turn Kaede down. (He never really does.) He doesn’t have the time for this, does he? I mean, Saihara has to study (though it’s summer) there’s.. an upcoming event with the agency! God, why is making so many excuses? He may be embarrassed out of his mind once he sees Amami, but! But!-- He probably won’t be able to see him ever again! Wooo!   
  
Speaking of the agency’s upcoming event.. Saihara desperately needed to find something to wear. The party was going to be awfully formal, which was very inconvenient for Shuichi. His attire typically consisted of sweatshirts, hoodies, and black jeans. Definitely not suitable. He sighed, the insomniac took one more sip of this coffee. He’ll worry about that later, he’s already lost track of time, jeez.    
  
Shuichi quickly put on a pair of flip-flops and walked out of his apartment. He fumbled with his keys before stuffing them back in his pocket. He continued walking down the street, but god was it hot out. Yes, in retrospect this hoodie was not the best to wear, Saihara continued walking nevertheless. He looked at Kaede’s texts, just to check if he was going to the correct address. It appears that he had gotten a new text! 

It was his aunt. She didn’t exactly live with Saihara or his uncle, she lived back in Kyoto, but they talked sometimes. That was nice. The message wasn’t very dramatic or anything, she just had sent a picture of Saihara’s suit for the party. He smiled. Since Saihara wasn’t paying attention; he unfortunately bumped into someone.

“Ach-!” He exclaimed. He had fallen on the ground, which definitely wasn't the best place to be. The eccentric girl in front of him (literally) jumped up and down and yelled her apologies, also a lot of other things Saihara didn’t quite catch.    
  
“Well you don’t look like Kae-chan.” The girl  dumbly pointed out. But, Saihara not one to judge, he says a lot of dumb things. 

  
“Ah, yeah. Not really.” God, stupid answer- Stupid answer-    
  
“Waaaaaaait,” the girl paused for a second. She looked like she was trying to remember something. Meanwhile, Saihara was dusting himself off as he got back up. “Ibuki knows! You’re Saihara, riiiiiiight?”    
  
“Yes, uh, that’s me.”   
  
“Great!!” The eccentric girl yelled, pulling Saihara along with her.   
  
Jesus, this is going to be a long day.   
  
Ibuki pulled Shuichi over to a park. It looked similar to an elementary school. Huh. Kaede didn’t exactly tell Saihara what he was doing with Amami, but he certainly wasn’t expecting this. He saw a young girl with brightly coloured hair next to… more children with bright hair. 

Saihara had a slight difficulty speaking to said children, it’s like speaking to a regular person (which Shuichi was definitely not great at, may I add), but you can’t say sarcastic jokes or remarks that you come up with. (Most of which Saihara was quite proud of.) You have to be nice, that’s something easy enough. Being a decent person isn’t hard. (Unless you’re Enoshima or her accomplices.) Shuichi walked over to Rantaro. To be frank, Amami’s face was very pleasing to look at. Again, he was frustrated at himself for thinking such things, seeing how this man would most likely turn out to be some sort of asshole. 

“Oh! Hey, Saihara,” the other boy said, waving.

Ah, the moment Shuichi’s been anxiously waiting for. 

“Hi, Amami.”

The rest of the day relatively quickly. Shuichi mostly followed Amami around, seeing as he knew his way around. He was  _ definitely  _ contemplating whether he should hold the other boy’s hand.  _ Is it too early? Too late? Nope, nope, nope, too early. We’re not even friends yet, just acquaintances. That’s all. Calm down, Saihara. _

Saihara had spoken to all of the children, they were all interesting. Rather intelligent actually. They were fairly energetic with the exception of Nagisa Shingetsu, (Saihara believed that’s what his name was.) but in general, it wasn’t as bad as the young pessimist believed it was going to be. 

Amami did have some sort of charm with them though. (Was it because of his sisters? Shuichi wondered why there was no trace of them, but they might have just been out.) Mioda also had a charm with being able to speak to children (flawlessly), it may just be because of her childlike immaturity or overall pizazz. After a few hours, Saihara strolled around the brightly coloured playground. It was dark out, about 8:00, perhaps. Saihara sighed while he looked out at the city lights. The playgrounds seemed quite ominous in the moonlight, seeing how they’re usually jam-packed with children. Not desolate and.. dark.

Suddenly, Saihara felt a hand creep up on his shoulder, causing him to let out a small (frankly, terribly embarrassing) yelp. 

“Oh shit- Sorry, Saihara, didn’t mean to scare you like that,” Amami stammered, muttering up some apologies. 

“It’s alright, Amami. Uhm, perhaps warn me next time?”

“Yeah. Will do,” Man. This conversation was horribly awkward. Saihara sighed, he hoped someone would text him. Either just it being his uncle wanting him to come back home, or Akamatsu asking how his day had been. He did not want to leave, per se, Shuichi had never been good in these.. awkward situations. (Even if he was the one that started the wave of nervousness in the first place.) Was Amami waiting for someone? It had been getting late.. His parents or— 

Saihara’s train of thought came to an abrupt stop, when Amami spat out, “Hey, it’s not too late.. Are you free? Just wondering if you’d like to hangout or somethin’. You can say no, you’re probably busy with your detective business anyway.” 

What? This seemed a  _ bit _ surreal to Saihara, but he had to remind himself this was in no way endaring. That would be absurd. Well, it’s also quite absurd that Saihara has to continuously remind himself that, yes, he had  _ just met  _ Rantaro Amami. Shuichi Saihara may have been mildly infatuated with him, but there was this slight suspicion that continued itching Saihara’s brain. 

Amami in general seemed like a puzzle, the more you speak to him the more you ‘unlocked.’ It was odd, but everyone has some sort of guard and Saihara  _ was willing  _ to go along with this. For a bit. “Oh! Uh, hm. Just let me inform my uncle. Give me a moment.” The other boy smiled. It was a nice smile, so reassuring and welcoming. Saihara’s anxieties  _ almost forced him _ to think it was a facade. Besides, fawning over Amami’s appearance wasn’t a productive use of his time.

After his brief phone call with his uncle, he followed Amami deeper into the city. It was dark, with a handful of stars fluttering and illuminating the sky. Saihara hummed, he was surprisingly delighted, of course, he had the slight unfair grudge against Amami, but he still didn’t want his pessimistic way of thinking getting in the way of what seemed like a lovely night. (Perhaps his guilt of not working would go ahead and do that, seeing as he barely worked all day. Sure, his uncle had said to go enjoy himself, seeing as he didn’t have much free time. Saihara’s balance between work and school includes lack of sleep and extremely  _ long  _ nights.) 

Amami led him to a (surprisingly open) arcade. He grinned widely, showing Saihara to all his favourite games. First came PAC-MAN, which in the words of Amami, ‘an utterly iconic game, Saihara you are so uncultured, why haven’t you ever played this?’ Shuichi giggled. (Amami thought that it was cute. “ _ Saihara should laugh more.”)  _ Amami cleared his throat, strolling over to the next game. 

Next was Space Invaders, which was another slightly old game. Chiaki Nanami was the girl playing the game, her eyes fixated on the screen. She knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He thought it was quite mesmerizing. He couldn’t help but let out a quiet “ _ woah.”  _

“Yeah, that’s Nanami,” Amami said, whilst he looked at the screen. “She’s a senior. Ultimate Gamer,” he added. 

“Ah. I figured.” 

“Mhmm,” Rantaro hummed, “she has all the highest scores in like,  _ every game. _ ” 

That’s.. amazing. You could add that gaming isn’t very productive, but man was it interesting to watch. The older girl yawned, continuing to fly through stage after stage.. After stage. Back at PAC-MAN, you could hear some sort of bickering or just laughter. Saihara quirked an eyebrow and looked back there. First, he spotted Ibuki Mioda. When did she ever get here..? Next was.. Well, Saihara didn’t quite recognize them. There was a gaunt teen with white hair, his roots were brown, but that was slightly difficult to spot; Saihara also spotted that the tips of his hair were also light brown. He wore a long green jacket with a square-shaped ‘55’ on the back of it. The other boy had standard short brown hair, and he wore a short sleeved dress shirt. He did have a green tie, but Shuichi couldn’t quite make out what the symbols on it meant. 

“Oh!! Shuichi!! Rantaro! Get over here!!” Mioda yelled, from across the room. Saihara’s face tinted slightly pink as he walked over to Mioda. 

“Ah, are these your friends you’ve been talking about, Mioda?” The white haired boy asked, his fingers were intertwined with the shorter boy, as he was still muttering angrily about how Mioda making an excuse to play when it’s  _ clearly his turn,  _ is  _ extremely  _ unfair.

“Yup, yup!” Mioda pointed to Rantaro. “This is Rantaro Amami, Adventurer!” Ibuki continued, in her usual chipper tone. “And this is Shuichi Saihara, Ultimate..” Mioda paused, placing her thumb on her chin. “Wait.. Ibuki isn’t actually sure. What is your ultimate, Shuuuuichii?”

Gosh, he doesn’t know how much more of this first person talk he can take. “I’m the Ultimate Detective.”

“Oh! So like, Kyoko, right?” The voice added, two people were farther away, slightly hiding behind the machine. Once he spotted the person, boy was Saihara delighted. Finally, there was someone there that he actually recognized. It was Makoto Naegi, Byakuya Togami was slowly following behind the short boy, still slightly confused with the video games surrounding them.

“Yes, I- uh- actually work with her.. Sometimes.”

“So you’re the emo bo-” Naegi cleared his throat. “Erm, I mean- You’re the kid Kyoko keeps telling me about! Man, I was gonna meet you when school started up again,” he continued, “Kyoko was supposed to introduce me.” He chuckled. Naegi was actually  _ very _ friendly. Even if Saihara didn’t speak much during this conversation, it was pleasant hearing him speak. He had some warm aura about him, like Kaede.. Like Amami. 

Saihara and Amami continued strolling, the lights flashed. Bright colours flashed, over and over.. Red, blue, green, yellow, red.. Blue—

Saihara took a deep breath. He was far behind Amami, frankly he doesn’t even think he can see him anymore. 

_ Where did he… go..? _

Saihara groaned, he had felt his hands shaking and- he  _ didn’t know what to do.  _ He couldn’t hear the bickering of his friends; it was just.. ringing. 

Then, Amami finally caught on. “Hey, hey, Saihara, I’m right here. It’s okay.” Rantaro’s fingers intertwined with Shuichi’s, as he pulled him a bit closer. “C’mon, it’s been a long day, let’s get you home.” 

  
“... _ Thank you, Amami. _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for reading!! sorry for taking a long time with every chapter, but i think this one was kinda worth it. 
> 
> comments are appreciated! uhm!! i love answering questions and seeing feedback. :D
> 
> i hope my one line with komaeda wasn’t horribly ooc-  
> most of these characters i’ve actually rp’ed before, but komaeda was new. :)  
> (so was amami but- that came a bit easier.) 
> 
> again, thank you thank you so much for reading !!! i hope you have a wonderful rest of your day.

**Author's Note:**

> this will n o t update daily  
> apologies


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